Experimental Investigation on the Flue Gas Emissions of a Domestic Biomass Boiler under Normal and Idle Combustion Conditions (original) (raw)

Biomass plays an important role in the world primary energy supplies, currently providing 14% of the world’s primary energy needs and being the fourth largest contributor following coal, oil and natural gas. Over the past decade, domestic biomass heating has received more governmental and public supports than ever before in many developed countries, such as the UK. Although biomass combustion releases some combustion pollutants, biomass is renewable and produces little net CO2 emissions to the atmosphere. Owing to the low sulphur and low nitrogen contents of many biomass materials, substituting biomass for fossil fuels, particularly coal, can reduce SOx and NOx emissions. This study investigated flue gas emissions, particularly carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides, of a domestic biomass boiler under various operating conditions. The biomass boiler used in this study satisfies the current EU regulation (EN 303-05) on emissions of domestic biomass boilers. Emissions of the boiler had been measured not only under normal combustion conditions, but also under ‘idle’ combustion conditions when the boiler was not in but was ready for full operation. The experimental results are analysed and presented in this paper.